Best Olympic Park Bike Circuit for Kids

Sydney Olympic Park offers over 35km of bath tracks, bikes lanes, and shared paths, as well as a skate park, BMX track, and mini-waterpark. We recently rode all the biking trails to review the three suggested routes on their “bike safari”, and we share our recommendation for the best Olympic Park Bike Circuit to ride with kids.

Public Transit to Olympic Park

Before you it’s time for wheels down, you have to get to the park. Trains are the easiest and fastest car-free option, although we could ride there via the Cook’s River greenway (if we started at 6am…). During the weekends we visited, trains did not run directly to Olympic Park from the city, so we started at Central, stopping to change lines at Lidcombe. Both Central and Lidcombe stations provide generous elevator capacity, and we gratefully took the lifts to and from the platforms instead of hauling the loaded bikes up and down stairs.

Even without the challenge of stairs, the Xtracycle is awkward and unwieldy in the station. Fortunately, the light Saturday morning traffic eased our stress and allowed semi-fluid movements into and around tight elevator corners. Leaving before 9am makes a huge difference in traveling, the stations become increasingly crowded and clogged as the day wears on. We suggest choosing train cars at the very back of the train, which decreases the number of passengers and activity in our car at each stop.

We also suggest NOT grabbing breakfast and coffee to go, it was our biggest transport mistake! With coffees in hand, our ability to “mind the gap” significantly decreased. We tried to have JZ load the bikes in the train, while I carried the coffees, but that solution took more time than the train guard allotted for our stop. I attempted to gingerly balance the coffees in my empty child seat, costing us several splashes, or $1 worth, of coffee during the rush to board. Lesson learned: bring a bike or a coffee, not both.

Once aboard, we braced the bikes against the standing poles to avoid and risk they might topple as the train started and stopped. We kept CZ strapped into her seat, even though the two rides lasted over 15 minutes, allowing us to focus on clearing a path for new and alighting passengers.

We arrived at Olympic Park, and the empty station overwhelmed us. The high arched ceilings, and open structure can accommodate 50,000 passengers a day, an astounding number for a station with only four platforms! We walked around the station, consulted the maps again, and headed out for a family ride.

Best Olympic Park Bike Circuit for Kids

Parklands Circuit

We loved the 5.5km parklands circuit! The paths are wide and cyclist friendly, with well-marked signs throughout Bicentennial Park. During our ride, we stopped to meander through the Mangrove swamp, and check out the waterbirds. We climbed several lookouts, and attempted to peek into the Waterbird sanctuary. Disappointingly, the neighboring trees outgrew most of them, and the lookouts no longer offer much of a view. After our circuit, we enjoyed a surprisingly tasty lunch at the park cafe, and called it a great family day.

Know before you go:

• The paths become increasingly crowded with riders of all age and ability on the weekends. Beginners might feel more comfortable with an earlier morning ride.
• The water fowl areas are not particularly scenic and lacked in number and variety of birds; however this may have been season since it is still winter.
• From the train station, you will need to ride along a road to enter the park, but, if you drive, parking is available at Bicentennial Park.

Olympic Circuit

As recommended by the bike circuit map, we began this track from the station, and completed this circuit first to familiarize ourselves with the park. We hoped for an introductory Sydney Olympic Park navigation lesson with placards and records; however, the Olympic aspect evaded us without a proper guide. This path did allow us (or rather our Chief Navigator, JZ) to understand the main roadways and park layout.

By our rough approximation, about 2/3rds of 7.6km circuit follows marked bike lanes on roads. While the streets were fairly empty for both of our rides, I would not be comfortable having an inexperienced rider so close to vehicles, especially with major event traffic. Once inside Wentworth Commons, we loved the spiral hill lookouts (somehow hill sprints become fun when making shrinking loops to see a new vantage point). We also enjoyed checking out the playgrounds, and riding along the river. Even later in the day, this area remained calm and peaceful – opposed to the business of Bicentennial Park.

Know before you go:

• The loop around the Sports Centre did not enhance the ride for us. The route is along roads and parking lots, and the details of the sports fields are not easily seen from the road.
• You can connect to the Parklands Circuit from this loop, and we recommend connecting Wentworth, while skipping the Sports Centre
• If Olympic history interests you, opt for the self-guided Discovery Icons walking tour. We learned a lot following the red trail signs and reading the descriptions on this short path.

River Heritage Circuit

The River Heritage circuit is the longest trail, and we found it the most scenic as well. We exited the main sporting complex area along Pondage Link Rd, and crossed Hill Rd, before turning left. We crossed Haslams creek by the Western Distributor, and turned toward the Parramatta River. We thoroughly enjoyed the lower traffic bike path along Haslam’s Creek. The trail has partial shade, and clear signage. We stopped briefly at the Armory Wharf cafe and Blaxland Park, and envision a return trip during a warmer weather for some CZ playtime. We wanted to return to the Olympic Cauldron to watch them light the flame in support of the Aussie Olympians at the 2016 games!

Know before you go:

• The Hill Road section of the circuit is on a shared path separated from the road, so it is a little safer for young riders.
• If you want to avoid riding on the road, you could catch a ferry to Olympic Park, and ride along the Parramatta river section of this circuit.
• The Armory Wharf Cafe looks like a delicious lunch spot if you want to savour the ride and make a day of it.

Best Olympic Park Bike Circuit – Know before you go

Upon reflection, JZ and I will certainly return to Olympic Park for family rides, but we will not follow any of the circuits again. Our biggest complaint about the rides as a whole is the lack of signage outside of designated parks. During our trips, we stopped frequently to pull out the map (saved to iBooks for easy access), to see if we were still on track (the answer: almost). I think the paths and tracks are uniquely suited to a cruise without an agenda. We rarely ride without a planned route because of the city traffic, and the all too often occurance of bike lanes suddenly ending into a freeway without any warning. Olympic park offers such a plethora of cycleways that you nearly always have the option to hop on a shared path, if the road makes you uncomfortable, or get out on the road if you are looking for some speed.

Other general things to know:

• The area is relatively flat overall, only a few small hills are unavoidable
• The area offers many interesting ride options – not just circles
• We passed and sampled a fraction of the food offerings. You could easily spend the whole day in the area without requiring packed provisions.
• Numerous playgrounds to hop between

Download or print the official map here.

If you take a ride in Sydney Olympic Park let us know how it went and which circuit was your favourite!